Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melun and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Melun: $1,687 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

82

Cost of Living Index in Melun
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Melun Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Melun

🇫🇷 France

$1,687

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melun and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Melun and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,687 in Melun versus $1,835 in Nosara.

Melun $1,687
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,511 in Melun versus $2,825 in Nosara.

Melun $2,511
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,335 in Melun versus $3,814 in Nosara.

Melun $3,335
Nosara $3,814

Living in Melun costs roughly 8% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melun 24% above, Nosara 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.73 €11.32

$12.34 ₡5,535

3.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.1 €47.20

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-13.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.41 €11.93

$7.76 ₡3,481

72.81%

Cappuccino

$2.99 €2.66

$4.44 ₡1,992

-32.66%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.79 ₡803

-6.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.29 ₡580

34.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.44 €6.62

$3.24 ₡1,451

129.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 €5.00

$4.43 ₡1,985

27.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.55 ₡696

-14.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.08 ₡1,380

-38.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.53 ₡1,133

13.04%

Eggs

$4.17 €3.70

$3.45 ₡1,546

20.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.19 €18.85

$7.32 ₡3,284

189.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.88 €11.46

$10.24 ₡4,594

25.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.95 €20.41

$14.10 ₡6,326

62.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 €2.94

$2.29 ₡1,027

44.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$1.64 ₡737

29.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$4.79 ₡2,149

-50.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 €2.74

$1.64 ₡735

87.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$3.85 ₡1,727

-52.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.77

$3.75 ₡1,681

-46.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.09 ₡488

62.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 €0.56

$2.59 ₡1,160

-75.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.92 €12.38

$5.12 ₡2,295

171.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 €7.29

$19.92 ₡8,931

-58.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.19

$2.80 ₡1,255

-12.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 €3.80

$3.52 ₡1,580

21.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.22 ₡549

59.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.25 €42.03

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-36.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.17 ₡973

1.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.56 ₡698

38.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.81 €21.18

$8.67 ₡3,886

174.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.55 ₡697

43.87%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.1K €30.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-1.35%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.3K €30.5K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-11.57%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$197 €176

$94.8 ₡42.5K

108.08%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$15.10 €13.43

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-58.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.14 €25.03

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-46.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.17 €31.29

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-52.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$7.91 ₡3,548

26.04%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$623 €554

$490 ₡219.9K

27.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,092 €7,197

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-31.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.6 €77.0

$54.8 ₡24.6K

58.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.76 €36.25

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-27.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$80.4 ₡36.0K

28.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €90.4

$77.9 ₡34.9K

30.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €660

$801 ₡359.1K

-7.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$561 €499

$790 ₡354.1K

-28.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 €1,061

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-70.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$883 €785

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-37.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,959 €3,522

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-43.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,978 €2,649

$1,236 ₡554.3K

140.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,499 €2,223

$887 ₡397.6K

181.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.92

8.62

-54.52%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Melun: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Melun

$561 33.2%

Nosara

$790 43% 40.8% $229

Groceries & Markets

Melun

$372 22.1%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 6.1% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melun

$241 14.3%

Nosara

$184 10% 23.5% $57

Eating Out

Melun

$240 14.2%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 11.4% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Melun

$150 8.9%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 19.1% $29

Getting Around

Melun

$68 4%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 30.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Melun

$55 3.3%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 62.6% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Melun and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melun pays 182% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53.0 in Melun vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $372 vs $350, with Nosara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Melun

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:18 7:18 AM

23:18 11:18 PM

8 h behind Melun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,367

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melun Nosara 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Melun
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Melun vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melun and Nosara differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,687 vs $1,835 including rent). Melun is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 182% higher in Melun, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $742 in Melun versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,687 per month in Melun versus $1,835 in Nosara – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Melun runs roughly 56% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,687 in Melun versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Melun but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Melun the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Melun and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Melun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.